NDP calls on Trudeau to aid refugees caught in Trump’s travel ban

The NDP MP leading the push for an emergency debate on U.S. President Donald Trump’s ban on immigration and travel from seven Muslim-majority countries said today the government must immediately suspend an agreement that bars Canada and the U.S. from accepting refugee applications from each other’s citizens.

“Words are not enough,” said NDP MP Jenny Kwan, who represents the B.C. riding of Vancouver East, during a press conference where she and NDP foreign affairs critic Hélène Laverdière announced the party’s proposal for a federal government response to the ban.

Trump signed an executive order Friday night that halted immigration and travel from Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and Libya for three months.

Already, the move has drawn international condemnation and has sparked protests at airports across the U.S. Critics have called the ban discriminatory and unconstitutional.

While Canadians carrying passports from one of the affected countries along with a Canadian permanent residency card will not be affected by the ban, questions remain over whether that is being communicated to border officials on the ground in the U.S.

Refugee and immigration advocates are urging Canadians travelling to the U.S. with a passport from one of the banned countries to exercise caution. Kwan said the government needs to take concrete action to help refugees if the U.S. will not.

The NDP’s five-point plan calls on the Canadian government to lift the application cap on privately sponsored refugees from Syria and Iraq, to fast-track applications from refugees whose U.S. applications were approved before the ban or were nearing completion, to work with global partners to produce a plan to take in more refugees until the ban is revoked, to seek greater assurances for those travelling from Canada to the U.S., and to immediately suspend the Safe Third Country Agreement.

The Safe Third Country Agreement is a pact between Canada and the U.S. that essentially says both countries will turn back anyone crossing the border to make a refugee claim. It’s based on the idea that both Canada and the U.S. will give fair hearings to those seeking asylum.

“That is obviously no longer the case,” the NDP proposal reads.

When asked whether the NDP has spoken with the government or has its support for any of the proposals announced Tuesday, Kwan said that is why they’re having the emergency debate.

“We know that the ban brought in by the Trump administration is absolutely shocking to Canadians. I never imagined in my entire life that I would witness a democratic country, much less our closest ally and our neighbour next door … come forward with a ban that is based on race, religion and your place of birth,” she said. “To that end, we need to step up.”

The emergency debate begins at 7:30 p.m. tonight. iPolitics will be there.